Canmore Mediation

Nicky Brink: Canmore Mediation Services

About me

I have a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy from Queen's University (1992) and a Bachelor of Laws from University of British Columbia (1998). I have practised as a research lawyer in the Bow Valley for more than 10 years, working in all areas of law including family, personal injury, estates, wrongful dismissal, etc.

I turned to mediation to help people resolve their conflicts in a less adversarial manner. I am a member of Family Mediation Canada and the Alberta Family Mediation Society.

About mediation

Mediation is a service that helps people solve their disputes. It is a non-adversarial, co-operative decision-making process in which the neutral mediator assists the parties involved in disputes to find mutually acceptable resolutions to their conflicts.

Mediators:

• Help disputants find creative solutions that are acceptable to all parties
• Facilitate communication between disputants
• Help disputants clarify issues, identify underlying concerns and develop a better understanding of their needs and interests

The final agreement reached through mediation is taken to a lawyer to be turned into a legally binding agreement.

Mediation has been used to settle many types of conflicts:

• disputes between insurance companies and injured parties
• disputes between neighbours
• disputes between businesses and their customers
• disputes between business partners
• disputes between spouses
• disputes between co-workers
• disputes between landlords and tenants
• disputes between beneficiaries under an estate

Benefits of mediation:

• Promotes communication and cooperation
• Allows you to control the decisions that affect your life
• Private and confidential
• Quicker than litigation
• Less expensive than litigation
• Procedurally simpler than litigation

Since mediation is a voluntary process, it is best used when there is a commitment to settle using the mediation process.

What will happen in the mediation?

The mediator will sit down with the participants and discuss a few preliminary items including communication and confidentiality. The people involved in the mediation will determine which matters they need to resolve. The mediator will then facilitate a discussion between the participants and ensure that each person has the opportunity to explain their concerns and needs. The mediator will assist in creating understanding between the participants and provide them with the opportunity to generate and evaluate solutions to their dispute. Solutions that are agreed upon by the participants will be written up in a Memorandum of Understanding or Mediated Agreement by the mediator. The Memorandum of Understanding or Mediated Agreement is not legally binding, but can be used as the basis of a legal agreement or Court Order.

Mediation in separation and divorce

Mediation can assist spouses to resolve all their legal issues including:

• child support
• parenting plans
• spousal support
• division of property